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Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TURIZAM)

Project description

TURIZAM a five-year USAID program that aims to accelerate economic growth in the tourism sector, provide sustainable income for producer organization and tourism-related companies, help to transform the “B&H brand”, and have a positive spill-over effect to other sectors; such as agriculture, transportation, and environmental protection and nature conservation. In achieving this overarching goal, TURIZAM focuses on the following objectives:

Objective 1: Enabling Environment with the Harmonized Policies and Regulations Necessary for Noticeable Growth in the Tourism Sector Established

Objective 2: Tourism Quality, Services, and Branding Strengthened Resulting in Improved B&H Tourism Industry

Objective 3: Tourism Service Providers, Agriculture, and Other Tourism-Related SMEs Gain Improved Access to Finance Resulting in a Substantial Increase in Investment

Objective 4: Tourism and Agriculture Products Gain Increased Access to Regional and Global Markets

Enova was subcontracted by Chemonics to provide support to MSMEs in the tourism sector in terms of business development services, access to finance facilitation, and environmental management as well contribution to sustainable use of natural assets in the country.

Types of services provided

In cooperation with the TURIZAM team, Enova provides long-term and short-term technical experts who will implement a suite of initiatives, develop related deliverables as defined in the TURIZAM’s work plans and as assigned by the project leadership in the following technical areas:

Enabling Environment:

1. Facilitate the development of policy and regulatory reform agenda to promote enabling environment for continued growth in the tourism sector
2. Work with selected municipalities to implement Green Cities action plans
3. Contribute to gender and social inclusion assessment and plan
4. Develop advisory plan to implement Green Cities Action Plan for Sarajevo and Banja Luka
5. Plan and support the increase of land area classified as protected (based on available valorization studies)
6. Improve Access to Finance for the tourism-related SMEs through initiatives agreed upon by the TURIZAM’s senior leadership as follows:

• Contribute to the TURIZAM’s assessment of existing financing options for SMEs operating in the tourism sector
• Develop finance directory of available public, private and donor finance options for SMEs to be promoted in online and other formats
• Facilitate matchmaking between lenders and entrepreneurs
• Provide technical expertise to TURIZAM’s initiatives supporting local governments in alignment of funding programs with tourism strategyImproved products and experiences:
  7. Support the TURIZAM team in developing the Outdoor Tourism Cluster Plan.

  Workforce development:

  8. Support tourism and hospitality human capital needs assessment
  9. Leveraging proven trainings programs, assist TURIZAM in the development and upgrading existing training programs to professionalize hospitality services
  10. Support adaptation of existing Vocational Training Curriculum for use in B&H

  Additionally, Enova’s long-term and short-term experts are contributing to TURIZAM’s execution of key project milestones and deliverables, including:

  • Gender Assessment
  • 2021-2025 Human Capital needs assessment and forecast
  • Advisory plan to implement Green Cities Action Plan for Sarajevo and Banja Luka
  • Plan to increase land area classified as protected (based on available valorization studies)
  • Vocational Training Curriculum Assessment
  • Nature parks adaptive tourism planning and management model